Gunslinger

Tequila, Mezcal, Roasted Pineapple, Lemon, Lime, Pasilla Chile, and Salt

Bartender Iluggy Recinos of Exxir Hospitality | Dallas

When Beverage Director Iluggy Recinos asked fellow Exxir Hospitality bartenders to give him some insight into the Dallas palate, all they had to say was, “Agave. They LOVE agave.” So he hit the ground running at The Botanist, Exxir’s craft cocktail lounge, down a path that would eventually produce their number one selling cocktail, the Gunslinger. Recinos starts with sliced pineapple that gets coated in sugar and cooked in the wood fire oven until the center is juicy and tender with a brûlée-like finish. It’s seasoned with salt, cinnamon, chipotle, and cayenne, and returned to the oven. The tender, baked piña gets pushed through an extraction juicer then combined with tequila, simple syrup, lemon, lime, mezcal, and Ancho Reyes for subtle smoke. The cocktail is finished with a Pasilla chile and a house-made 5 chile salt rim to drive home the pepper and spice. “It flies like crazy. It’s very umami.” says Recinos. “It has depth, acidity, beautiful spice, and aroma.”

Adapted by StarChefs | December 2021

INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Pineapple Juice:
1.2 kilograms pineapple, cored and cut into long thin strips
50 grams sugar
2 grams freshly ground cinnamon
2 grams kosher salt
3 grams ground chipotle
1 gram ground cayenne

Botanist Chile Salt:
14 grams ground sumac
10 grams ground chipotle 
35 grams kosher salt
12 grams ground black peppercorns
27 grams Aleppo pepper flakes

To Assemble and Serve:
Yield: 1 cocktail
¼ ounce evaporated cane simple syrup
¼ ounce fresh lemon juice
¼ ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce Ancho Reyes
½ ounce mezcal
1 ½ ounces reposado tequila
1 dried pasilla chile

METHOD:

For the Roasted Pineapple Juice:
In a large bowl, toss pineapple in sugar. Transfer pineapple to a sheet tray. Blast in a woodfire oven until pineapple achieves a nice brûlée and center is cooked through, 3 minutes. Heat oven to 375℉. In a large bowl, toss brûléed pineapple with cinnamon, salt, chipotle, and cayenne.  Transfer pineapple to a clean sheet tray. Cook 25 minutes. Let cool completely. Using an extraction juicer, juice pineapple. Transfer to quart containers and reserve in fridge.

For the Botanist Chile Salt:
In a bowl, mix to combine all ingredients. Transfer to a quart container and reserve. 

To Assemble and Serve:
To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add simple syrup, lemon, lime, Ancho Reyes, mezcal, tequila, and 1 ounce Roasted Pineapple Juice. Shake. Double strain into a double old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish with pasilla chile and a sprinkle of Botanist Chile Salt.

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